Tampa Burger Aficionados------ ACHTUNG!

A couple weeks before my standard New Years' resolution is no time to be planning the exploration of an interesting, newly discovered, but thankfully limited, menu ----- but I finally sought out and found the Burger Culture food truck at their supposed frequent (lunchtime) location at Kennedy & Henderson, next to State Vacuum...

I pulled in to the big parking lot, walked up to the window and stared at the menu...

A few days ago I had a KILLER Gyro at Mr. Souvlaki on Pinellas Ave. in Tarpon Springs so I decided against the 'Greek Burger' for now...I love love love the sandwich combination of Thanksgiving things, so I was excited to see a 'Thanksgiving Burger' on the menu, consisting of a turkeyburger, stuffing, cranberry, and gravy!

Yes, it was just Thanksgiving--- and yeah, last week I made a big ol' 'Thanksgiving Wrap' that turned out surprisingly well---- and even though I'm not a turkeyburger kinda guy, I'll try their Thanksgiving Burger before the end of the week... If it's ANYTHING like what I got today I'll be getting another one to go...

I passed on the Santa Fe Burger after a two-second imaginary movie clip of me squishing Guacamole & Pico de gallo all over my cleanest dirty shirt---- so I went for the 'Cajun Burger', just to order something already...

Do I want fries? Yeah, sure...Near the bottom of the menu it said 'Add Patty $2.00' ---- "Excuse me, could you make that a double? Pink inside if possible?"

She said; "Medium rare?"I opened my eyes wide and shook my head yes...

Still, I wasn't excited about getting a Cajun Burger... I thought they were gonna overdo 'something'... You hear Cajun and you think 'spices'... The odds were they were not going to nail it...

Have you ever ordered a Cajun Burger, or one of those other infrequent specialty burgers from Checkers? I love my salt, but the sodium, and whatever other over-the-top flavor boosters they use often hit my tongue like battery acid and cause a heartbeat in my left ear halfway thru the meal... Their regular burgers not so much...

Everything was being grilled and made fresh... The burgers sizzled and the fries gurgled in the oil... While very friendly, they moved like a finely tuned machine putting my order together, and in a few minutes I walked to the passenger side of my van, hopefully facing away from judging eyes, small children, or security cameras, and I set up a towel like a tablecloth on the seat... When I opened the burger-styro I giggled a little, like a maniac...Sometimes people post pics of burgers or sandwiches and all you see is the bread... I might not express it right then, but I get mean inside when a burger is smaller than the bun... I won't stand for it!

But look at this gift they made for me... And they were so casual about it... Like they were serving me something normal...

This post is getting crazy, I need to wrap it up...The bun was soft and fresh and I immediately tasted a depth of grill flavor in the dripping- juicy- beefy- lightly cajun seasoned burger patties... The damn Chipotle secret love sauce was gorgeous, the mushrooms were juicy and fell into the pool of captured burger juices in the styro, only to be scooped back up by the last few bites of burger...

When I was done I wanted to yell RAAHH! scaring flocks of birds from trees and telephone wires...

The fries were fine... Crispy, golden, and well salted and peppered, as you can see...There's a slight flavor dimension that's missing, keeping them from being 'great', but it's not much of a tweak... Oil type or species of tater, I'm not sure...

Now here's the thing.... Normally I advise that to have a really special burger experience you have to order a double, and medium rare---- but I would never say you'd need to order this... This was advanced scarfage!I think this burger was so skillfully fashioned, it would be great even as a single patty burger...Not for me---- but for you... Well, put it this way; if you get the double and you're with respectable company or on a first date, ask for a knife and a fork... Otherwise go by yourself, or with someone who will tell you without rolling their eyes in contempt, that you have Chipotle love sauce on your ears...

What a great post! Although I just had breakfast, my mouth was watering while I smiled through the lovely story of the Chipotle burger. Bill, no self-respecting chowhound would EVER roll their eyes upon seeing love sauce anywhere on your person. It's part of the job description!